When I Played Against India, Probably Two Of The Players Were Fit; Now Everybody On The Field Is Fit: Michael Holding

Legendary West Indies pacer Michael Holding has said that the change in attitude and fitness levels of the current Indian team is what makes it completely different from the ones he played against during his era.

While maintaining that the skill levels of players have remained the same, the changes in the pitches prepared in the country have made a huge difference in the performance of the players away from home and that has resulted in improved performances of the team overseas conditions.

“Well, it’s a totally different era when it comes to Indian cricket. When I played against India, probably two of the players were fit. Now everybody on the field is fit. You see how athletic they are, how dynamic they are,” Michael Holding told Indian Express.

“The skill level hasn’t really changed that much but when you have fitness, and change of attitude along with skill level, obviously the cricket will also change,” he added.

“What has also helped Indian cricket is that a lot of pitches in India, for domestic cricket and cricket in general, have improved. The ball bounces a lot more and since it carries, batsmen are able to cope on overseas pitches,” he said.

“In my time, once India left India, that was it. The pitches that they played in India were slow and low and it became dusty,” Holding added.

Michael Holding also recalled his previous  visit to India in 2014 where he kept on asking the legendary Sunil Gavaskar that why the pitches were not the way during their playing days like they are in the present era

”When I did a series in India in 2014-15 when West Indies came and the tour was abandoned, each time I would do a pitch report with Sunny Gavaskar, I would joke and say, ‘Sunny, how come the pitches weren’t like this when we used to play here?’ Good pitches create good cricketers,” he signed off.

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